Say Farewell to the Dark of Night
by Kiryn
Summary: There's no moment I regret; if our time has gone too fast, I've lived at last. My dearly beloved, we'll turn the darkness into light. A Femslash February collection, multiple pairings.
1. Light in the Dark

**A/N: I've always wanted to contribute to Femslash February, and I need to start writing again, so…here we are!**

 **The plan for this fic is for it to have 22 chapters, and for me to write 2 prompts for 11 femslash ships. It'll be all kinds of settings, both canon, canon-adjacent, and AUs, and unless if otherwise stated, none of the prompts will be connected with each other. I'm going to be writing and posing these throughout this month, so we'll just see where this adventure takes me! XD**

 **As for this particular ficlet, I feel that it's…kind of weird, and not my best, but I'm trying not to stress too much about the quality of these ficlets, and just pump them out so that I can get back into a writing groove, so it is what it is. Feedback would most definitely be appreciated, though!**

 **Pairing: Aqua/Cinderella**

 **Theme Song of the Chapter: "Finale / Children Will Listen, Part 2", from Into the Woods. I didn't intend to, but the song and this fic ended up quite a lot alike. I would quote a few lyrics, but like…that would end up being all of them. So, go check out that song!**

 **Warnings: This was inspired by A Fragmentary Passage, from the KH 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue. So, there's a couple of spoilers, and while this is AU-ish, the themes of this fic were HEAVILY prevalent in the game. So, if you don't want to be spoiled at all, I suggest you read no further.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, etc, etc. Title taken from the song "Back At One" by Brian McKnight, with the summary taking inspiration from "If I Never Knew You", from Pocahontas. I don't own "Into the Woods", either.**

* * *

Say Farewell to the Dark of Night

 _Light in the Dark_

* * *

When another illusion appeared before her, Aqua found that she couldn't summon up the energy to be surprised, anymore. The Realm of Darkness was already taking its toll on her, weariness settling like a heavy blanket over her shoulders, and she could feel the chilling tendrils creeping into her heart, working to suffocate her inner light.

Still, this illusion was one she hadn't seen before. Most often, she had seen specters of Terra and Ven, though in the fallen Dwarf Woodlands, the illusions had been of herself, the manifestations of her own doubt.

Now, Cinderella stood before her, looking hardly any different than the last time Aqua had seen her, though her dress was finer than anything Aqua had witnessed her wearing before.

Either way, she was still just as beautiful.

Aqua closed her eyes. It felt wrong, somehow, to imagine a Princess of Heart in these dark depths. The ache of her failure to save this woman and her world was still sharp, but to think of the purity of Cinderella's heart being tarnished by this place—

Aqua didn't know if it would count as a prayer, but still, she thought, _Please let her be an illusion. I don't know if I could bear it if the darkness has claimed her completely._

It drained Aqua more than it should have, finding the courage to do such a simple act as opening her eyes once more.

Cinderella still stood before her, blue eyes still wide with surprise as she stared back at Aqua. That surprise was fading though, eclipsed by concern and worry.

Her eyes were meeting Aqua's, staring squarely back at her.

Aqua's voice cracked, rasping out of her throat like it had been years since she'd last spoken. Maybe it had been. "Are you real?"

The worry didn't fade from Cinderella's eyes, but her lips quirked up into a small smile, as if she couldn't quite help herself. "As far as I know, I am," she replied quietly.

Aqua's eyes closed again, involuntarily, at the sound of her voice, still as warm and melodic as ever. It felt like she had been dying of thirst, and Cinderella's voice was water. It was like the cool relief of a healing spell, a blessing, a benediction. Salvation. Through her closed lids, Aqua could almost see the aura of Cinderella's light, radiating out from her like a golden nimbus, undimmed despite the darkness that threatened to engulf it.

Warm fingers stroked her cheek, and the shock of a gentle touch, after so long with only pain and death for companions, had Aqua snapping her eyes open again.

Cinderella drew her hand back uncertainly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's—" Alright, Aqua meant to say. But the word that came out instead was, "Please."

What exactly she was asking for, even Aqua didn't know. But Cinderella seemed to understand, anyway, and her hand cupped Aqua's cheek again, her thumb brushing away the tears Aqua hadn't even noticed were falling.

Upon that realization, an unbidden truth tumbled out, following after the unbidden tears.

"I can't do this," Aqua whispered. "I'm not—not strong enough."

Cinderella's other hand came up to cradle her face. "Yes, you can," she said firmly; her voice was still gentle, but it rang clear and true with absolute certainty, as implacable as mountains. "You're the strongest person I've ever known."

"I don't deserve your faith," Aqua said, voice harsh and broken. "I _failed_ you. I couldn't save you, or anyone."

Cinderella's hands held her tighter, as if she was trying to press that faith and light into Aqua's skin. "Even if that were true, everyone fails. Everyone falls. But, Aqua, the most important thing isn't that you never stumble or fail, but that you get back up again."

"I'm so tired." Shame burned in Aqua at the admittance of those words, at showing such weakness.

"Then rest."

Aqua blinked. "Are…are you telling me to give up?"

Cinderella's eyes flashed. "No. Never give up. But I can watch over you, if you wanted to sleep for a little while. I can keep the darkness at bay."

The promise of rest was so very tempting. But…

"I can't ask you to risk yourself for me."

"You're not asking. I'm offering."

"But—"

Cinderella smiled, and, oh, how could Aqua have forgotten what sunrise looked like, until she saw it shine in that smile?

"You protected me. Now, it's my turn to protect you."

And what else could Aqua say to that?

Aqua sagged into the other woman, who lowered them both to the ground, arranging them so that Aqua's head was in her lap.

Even if she faded into oblivion, tricked by an illusion of her own mind or the insidious darkness, Aqua was already halfway asleep.

"Thank you," she murmured into the shimmering folds of the ballgown.

Warm, soft lips pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"You will live," the voice like warm honey whispered into her ear. "Even in the deepest darkness, there is a light that will never go out. And if you cannot find your own light, mine will be yours to call upon. Wherever you may go, no matter the distance, remember: I am always with you."

Aqua sleeps, dreamlessly. And, much to her surprise, she wakes; still in darkness, and alone again, but her inner light seems…steadier. Glimmers of light against the abyss, perhaps, but not vanquished.

Aqua rises to her feet, and keeps walking.


	2. For Me?

**A/N: Woo, another one down! The writing has so far flowed a bit awkwardly, but at least it's flowing.**

 **This is set in canon-verse, and is taking place in some nebulous time in the future just after Sora and Riku have restored everyone in Sora's heart and etc. But I'm putting very little effort in fleshing out these settings, as these are mostly just supposed to be quick snippets of the ships. Mostly, this one in particular is just an excuse for me to give Naminé some long overdue happiness in canon. XD**

 **Pairing: Xion/Naminé**

 **Warnings: None, really. There's some angst with Naminé, and references to angsty canon events, but Xion isn't having any of it.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, etc, etc. Title taken from the song "Back At One" by Brian McKnight, with the summary taking inspiration from "If I Never Knew You", from Pocahontas.**

* * *

Say Farewell to the Dark of Night

 _For Me?_

* * *

After the initial rounds of tearful reunions, everyone seemed to unanimously agree that they needed to take some time to be alone, to let everything sink in and process recent events. And so, everyone had drifted apart, to seek out some pocket of solitude, at least for a few hours. Destiny Islands wasn't a huge world, but despite the rather large number of restored people, everyone seemed to be managing okay in finding some space. Even if other people were in sight, they were being politely ignored, with everyone too absorbed in their own thoughts to spare much energy for the turmoil of others.

Xion, for one, was grateful for the reprieve. As much as she was thrilled to see Axel and Roxas again (or, see again in the flesh, in Roxas's case, as they had been together in Sora's heart), and as ecstatic as she was at the prospect of being _real_ people with them at last, she needed to take a moment, to be truly alone for the first time in years. Plus, she knew the three of them needed to take this time to shore up their strength, and to prepare themselves to air the old grievances and wounds their relationship had taken towards the end. Roxas and Axel had never had the chance to talk things through, and Xion knew that she hadn't been fair to Axel at all, in forcing him to choose between her and Roxas. So, they were all long overdue for a talk. And the need to hash everything out didn't end there; there were others Xion knew she needed to talk to as well, like Riku, Sora, Isa…

But for now, Xion sat at the shoreline on the beach of the play island, concentrating on the feel of the breeze ruffling through her hair, the warmth of the sun on her skin, the smell of salt in the air, the sound of the waves washing over the sand, staring at the dazzling view of the ocean stretching on and on for endless miles.

There was a part of her, a leftover echo from Sora that she suspected would never truly fade away, that felt almost as much at peace here as she did at the clock tower in Twilight Town.

It wasn't a new thought, as she had felt that feeling of kinship with this place the first time she'd set foot here, back in the days of the Organization, when she had been looking to collect sea shells for Roxas, and it had grown stronger, the more she had absorbed Sora into herself. Looking back, Xion was pretty sure that the intensity had come from the deep well of homesickness that Sora had barely acknowledged all through his adventures.

Now that she had the time to truly sit and soak in the atmosphere, Xion thought she could understand even better why Sora had missed this place so much.

Xion didn't know long she had been sitting by herself, staring out at the horizon, when she heard the shuffling of indecisive footsteps making their way across the sand towards her.

When she looked over, she was a little surprised to see that it was Naminé.

As their gazes met, Naminé halted, uncertain if her presence was welcome, or if she would be rebuffed.

When Sora and Riku had finished restoring Xion, Roxas, Naminé, Ven, and Terra, and Axel and Aqua rushed to their friends, tears flowing freely, Naminé had been left hanging at the fringes. She had been greeted cheerfully by Kairi and Riku (though, more quietly and somberly in Riku's case), and had some sort of reunion with Sora, and she had seemed happy enough about those. But no one had been dashing to hug her, to hold her tightly and whisper through tears how much they'd missed her, and how happy they were to see her again. Thinking back, and no longer focused entirely on Axel and Roxas, Xion realized now just how little Naminé had in the way of friends. Xion had thought that Naminé had spent a lot of time with Riku, back when Sora was asleep for that year, and maybe they had, but seeing them interact now, they seemed more like business partners than friends.

The only time Xion had met Naminé before, she had been too caught up in her own problems, to notice much else about the girl, other than the aura of mystique she seemed cloaked in. But even then, Xion could remember a melancholy air about her, and that seemed to hang about her now, that even restoration into being a real person couldn't dispel.

And so, even though Xion was still reluctant to face reality, she found that she couldn't turn the other girl away.

Xion smiled, and patted the sand next to her in invitation.

The relief that filled Naminé's face broke her new heart a little.

Naminé delicately sat down next to her. She had apparently ditched her sandals at some point, and she immediately burrowed her toes and left hand into the sand. She seemed to be clutching something in her right hand, but Xion couldn't see what it was, only that it had to be small.

Upon noticing Xion watching her movements, a light blush rose in Naminé's cheeks. "I've spent so much time in memories of this place. But no memory can truly recall the feeling of things like sand, so the novelty of feeling the real thing…definitely hasn't worn off yet," Naminé explained quietly.

Xion nodded. "I hear that. It was the same for me, while I was in Sora's heart. And it's why I'm sitting down here in the sand now. His heart manifested a reflection of Destiny Islands a lot, but it didn't come close to feeling like the real thing."

Naminé's lips tilted up into a small smile. "I won't take up too much of your time. But I wanted to give this back to you." She lifted her up her right hand, and opened her fingers, offering the small object to Xion. Sitting in the palm of her hand was a thalassa seashell.

Xion looked at Naminé in confusion. "What's this for?"

Sadness eclipsed Naminé's features, and she looked away. "It's one of the sea shells you gave to Roxas. He had it in his pocket, when we captured him. From what I understand, when you…disappeared, this shell was the only thing left behind, and so he kept it. I could barely remember you, but I could still feel that the shell was important, so I didn't throw it away, like DiZ had ordered me to, and instead I hid it along with a few other things at the mansion in Twilight Town. I made a quick trip over there, to recover those things."

During this explanation, Naminé hadn't looked back at her once, keeping her eyes fixed forward, gazing towards the ocean. But now, Naminé seemed to gather some inner courage, and turned her head to meet Xion's eyes.

"It's only right for me to give it back to Roxas. But I'm pretty sure that he doesn't want anything to do with me, after what I did to him. So, I thought I'd see if I could ask you to return it."

Xion had kept quiet, letting Naminé say her piece. Now, she smiled at the other girl. "Of course I will," Xion promised, taking the shell from Naminé and putting it into her pocket for safekeeping. "Thank you, Naminé."

A part of her couldn't help but notice how soft the other girl's hand had felt against her fingers, and Xion wondered at the way her mind seemed to stutter over this seemingly inconsequential detail, but she pushed that aside, for now.

A bitter smile pulled at Naminé's lips. "You don't need to thank me. It's literally the least I could do."

Xion wanted to say something, to do anything to erase that bitterness, but she knew only too well how difficult it was to root out self-loathing.

"Besides, I know how important tokens of friendship are," Naminé continued, a thread of wistfulness seeping into her tone amongst the bitterness.

Xion remembered; Kairi had given Sora a good luck charm. And Xion had also gotten a few fragments of Sora's memories of Castle Oblivion, of his encounters with Axel there most prominently, but she was also sure she remembered something about a good luck charm exchange in the fake memories Naminé had given Sora…

Inspiration struck.

"Wait here," Xion instructed the other girl, before she jumped to her feet and dashed towards the water.

It took her a couple of minutes of searching, but soon she was snatching up a seashell. It wasn't a thalassa shell, but that made it all the more perfect, really.

As she jogged back to Naminé, she couldn't suppress the grin that felt like it was overtaking her face.

Naminé's brows were furrowed in confusion as Xion dropped back down beside her.

"What was that about?" Naminé asked.

"Here, I want you to have this," Xion replied, dropping the newly acquired shell into Naminé's hands. It was a pale lavender color that Xion thought suited the other girl's pale skin well.

Naminé looked from Xion, to the shell now in her hand, and back to the black-haired girl, uncomprehendingly. "It's for you," Xion repeated.

"For me? Why?"

"That's our friendship token," Xion informed her, smiling even more brightly.

"We're…we're friends? You…want to be my friend?" The disbelief in Naminé's voice tugged at Xion's heartstrings.

"Yes," said Xion firmly, with all of the sincerity she could muster.

Happiness, Xion decided, looked amazing on Naminé; the joyful smile that dawned on her lips was lighting up her whole face, and making her look positively angelic, and not at all like the demon of ruin that she seemed to be convinced she was.

Xion's own cheeks were starting to hurt from smiling so much in response, but as consumed as she was with thoughts of Naminé, there wasn't much room for thinking about anything else.


End file.
